Macaulay Culkin has put a lot of rumors to bed by opening up on his relationship with Michael Jackson, who he described as a “normal” guy.

The friendship between the King of Pop and the child star has been the source of much speculation throughout the years, but Culkin insists people only thought it was unusual because Jackson was the most famous person in the world at the time, and he was simply a 10-year-old who had just enjoyed a massive hit with the Home Alone movie.

Culkin, who is now 38, was appearing as a guest on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside Of You Podcast when he opened up on his relationship with the Thriller hitmaker.

Culkin explained, “He reached out to me because a lot of things were happening, big and fast with me and I think he identified with that.”

“At the end of the day, it’s almost easy to say it was weird or whatever but it wasn’t because it made sense. At the end of the day, we were friends.’

“I was a peerless person. Nobody else in my Catholic school had even this much idea of what I was going through and he was the kind of person who’d been through the exact same frickin thing and wanted to make sure I wasn’t alone.”

Culkin went on to describe Jackson as a “hilarious,” “sweet,” and “funny” character who would make prank telephone calls with him.

The Home Alone star added, “He was f***ing hilarious. He was charming, f***ing funny, silly. For me, it’s so normal and mundane. I know it’s a big deal to everyone else, but to me, it was a normal friendship.”

However Culkin doesn’t have the same feelings of warmth toward his own father, Kit Culkin, who he at first describes as a “complicated man” before revealing, “Honestly, he was a mean b*stard. He really shouldn’t have been a father, to be honest.”

Culkin explains how he never heard his dad express any pride in his son’s achievements and added that he hasn’t spoken to him in “about 23 years.”

Culkin said, “The word ‘proud’ never came across his lips. I do actually go out of my way, when it comes to my brothers and loved ones, when they do something really good or great, I go out of my way to say that I am proud of them, because that’s something I never really heard.”

Culkin’s comments on Michael Jackson come a few days after Mixmag announced that HBO will be airing a four-hour documentary exploring the abuse allegations surrounding the pop icon this spring.

Featured image credit: Phil WalterGetty Images

Leaving Neverland, produced by award-winning filmmaker Dan Reed, explores two men’s accusations of being abused by Michael Jackson as children.

The press release describes the film about “two men who recount their experiences of being sexually abused by Michael Jackson” as “gut-wrenching.”

The estate of Michael Jackson responded angrily to news of the forthcoming documentary and issued a statement which branded Leaving Neverland as “yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson. … This so-called ‘documentary’ is just another rehash of dated and discredited allegations. It’s baffling why any credible filmmaker would involve himself with this project.”